Allentown Band to offer first time ever public family concert

FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

The Allentown Band is conducted by Ron Demkee in a children's concert of patriotic music at Symphony Hall. Ron Demkee, conductor of Allentown Band, has written an op-ed to be published on Friday Nov. 11 that connects Veterans Day and patriotic music.

The Allentown Band is conducted by Ron Demkee in a children's concert of patriotic music at Symphony Hall. Ron Demkee, conductor of Allentown Band, has written an op-ed to be published on Friday Nov. 11 that connects Veterans Day and patriotic music. (FILE PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL)

The Allentown Band has performing concerts for school students for 13 years, but this year conductor Ronald Demkee decided to present the family concerts to the public for the first time.

The theme of the concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown is “Fabulous Fables!”

“Fables have been used for centuries using fictitious stories about about animals to teach us meaningful lessons about being human,” Demkee says. “I thought it would be meaningful and entertaining to build this year's program on fables.”

The program will start with four of Aesop’s Fables set to music by Parkland music teacher Scott Watson. The band will be joined by dancers from Repertory Dance Theatre who will perform to “The Hare and the Tortoise,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” “The Dog and the Bone,” and “The Wolf and his Shadow.”

Next the band will play the popular “Peter and the Wolf” by Serge Prokofiev. The arrangement by Joseph Paulson will be accompanied by the story depicted on slides on the large screen with narration by Emile Guida.

The program will conclude with selections from “The Lion King” the hit 1994 animated Disney film and Broadway musical that featured a score written by Elton John.

Demkee says the band has been providing free concerts for schools for many years and will present two concerts for 2,000 students during the day Wednesday.

“The band’s educational objectives for these concerts are to engage students, enhance learning experiences that connect music with other educational disciplines, and provide educational musical journeys that make learning fun,” Demkee says. “I want the audience, whether grandparents, parents or young children them to come away from this concert smiling, and feeling good about hearing good music of substance played well by America's oldest concert band performing in one of America's oldest concert halls.”